The Employment Rights Bill (“Bill”) has proposed significant changes to employment law. The Government has now published an “implementation roadmap” setting out a proposed timeline for the implementation of these changes. Some changes will be immediate whereas others are not expected to be implemented until 2027.
The Bill, once passed, will immediately repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and the majority of the Trade Union Act 2016. Enhanced protections for employees against dismissal for taking industrial action will be introduced.
The next changes are expected in April 2026 and will see the maximum protective award doubled for workers who are not collectively consulted in mass redundancies, “day one” rights to paternity leave, and the establishment of a fair work agency to enforce worker rights. Statutory sick pay is also set to become more accessible, with the removal of the lower earnings limit and waiting period. Trade union measures and processes will be simplified.
October 2026 will see an end to “fire and rehire” and strengthened laws on tip allocations which are fairer to employees. There will also be stronger obligations on employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, and additional obligations on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties. Further harassment protections will be introduced in 2027.
In 2027, gender pay gap and menopause action plans will be introduced, along with enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers. A day 1 right to protection from unfair dismissal will be introduced, along with stable hours and predictable income for those on zero-hour contracts.
The aim of the phased approach is to give employers time to adapt to these changes. Further consultations are expected to take place before implementation, and guidance is expected to be issued to support the adaptation to the changes. We will provide further updates as and when this information is released.
